FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Arizona Head Coach and Director of Track & Field and Cross Country J.W. Hardy has resigned his position to accept the head track and field/cross country position at Boise State.

“My 12 years at NAU have been a wonderful experience,” said Hardy. “The friendships with the coaches and staff have been awesome. I want to thank the administration at Northern Arizona for providing me the opportunity to grow as a coach, which has made this new opportunity at Boise State possible.”

Hardy, a former All-American for the Lumberjacks, recently concluded his fifth season as the Head Coach and Director of Track & Field and Cross Country at NAU. Hardy was just the third person to lead the NAU track and field programs since 1968, following NAU Hall of Famers Leo “Red” Haberlack and Ron Mann. Hardy spent 12 seasons overall on the NAU staff, after serving as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at NAU for the seven seasons.

“We wish J.W. the best in this new endeavor,” said Athletics Director Jim Fallis. “He has done a great job in his five years here as Director of Track and Field and Cross Country. I am confident he will be just as successful there.”

Since Hardy took over, the Lumberjacks captured 16 Big Sky Conference championships. Hardy coached student-athletes earned a total of 18 NCAA All-American awards, while 107 times they came away with an individual Big Sky Conference Championship during his 12-year tenure. His student-athletes set 22 NAU records and seven Big Sky championship records over the past five seasons.

In the 2008-09 school year alone the Lumberjacks won the Big Sky men's triple crown by capturing conference championships in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The women's team won two out of three titles with their cross country and indoor track and field crowns, before finishing second in the outdoor season.

NAU produced 19 event champions at the two Big Sky Conference meets as Hardy was named 2009 Big Sky Track and Field Coach of the year for the men's indoor, women's indoor, and men's outdoor seasons. He was honored as the Big Sky Coach of the Year eight times in five years, in addition to being named the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Coach of the Year in 2006.

Hardy, also an ordained minister, earned his bachelors degree in advertising from Northern Arizona in 1993. As an athlete, Hardy was a top NAU sprinter from 1989-93 under Ron Mann. He was a three-time NCAA All-American and a seven-time conference champion. Hardy is also a member of two relay teams that still hold Big Sky conference records. In 1991 his teams set both indoor and outdoor records in the 4x400 with times of 3:06.06 and 3:04.77, respectively. Hardy was also an individual conference champion in the 400-meter dash as well as a two-time champion as a member of the 4x100-meter relay team. During the four years that Hardy competed at NAU, the team won seven out of eight possible team titles.